@MartinFLSheriff/Twitter(STUART, Fla.) — A large fire ripped through a senior-citizen condominium community in South Florida late Monday, injuring two people and destroying at least 10 units at the property.
Emergency officials responded to Cedar Pointe Villages in Stuart, Florida, around 8 p.m. after getting calls that one of the complex’s two-story buildings was engulfed in flames, authorities said.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office deemed it a “serious fire” by 9 p.m. and tweeted video from the scene as firefighters battled to contain the blaze.
One section of complex was “completely engulfed” before the fire was contained, authorities said. Fire officials shut off power to the entire grid due to safety concerns.
“Firefighters are going door to door making sure everyone is out of the apartment building,” the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Two people were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. The victims’ injuries were unclear but most likely related to smoke inhalation.
Cedar Pointe Villages, a community for people 55 years or older, consists of 62 two-story buildings divided into eight villages. The resident who lives in the building that caught fire told authorities it was caused by a lit cigarette, according to local news outlets. Authorities have not confirmed that and still are investigating.
“We interviewed the gentleman who lived in the corner apartment where it started,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told WPTV. “His initial statement is that he was smoking a cigarette, he dropped it, the next thing he knew there was smoke in his apartment. A neighbor saw the smoke and the flames and called 911.”
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